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15 April 2015Labour's Election Manifesto 2015: Britain can be better

Much of the document
commits to policies already announced by the party such as a ban on some
zero-hours contracts, a freeze on energy bills, scrapping non-dom tax status,
reducing tuition fees to £6,000.

Raising the minimum wage
to more than £8 by October 2019

Freezing rail fares for
one year

Protecting tax credits
for working families so they rise with inflation

Introducing a new
National Primary Childcare Service, guaranteeing childcare from 08:00 to 18:00

The manifesto also
pledges there will be no increase to the basic or higher rates of income tax,
National Insurance or VAT.

The
economy

The deficit and how
Labour intends to tackle it plays a central role in the economy section of the
document.

"Cut the deficit
every year and balance the books as soon as possible in the next
Parliament"

Bring back the 50p top
income tax rate for those earning over £150,000

End the non-dom rule
that allows some wealthy UK residents to limit the tax they pay on earnings
outside the country

"Cut and then
freeze" business rates

Guarantee an
apprenticeship for all school leavers who attain certain grades and
"require any firm that gets a large government contract to offer
apprenticeships"

Ban zero-hours contracts
deemed to be "exploitative"

Freeze energy bills
until 2017 and give the regulator powers to cut bills

Introduce a British
Investment Bank

Health
and education

Invest £2.5bn more than
the Tories in health to recruit 8,000 more GPs, 20,000 more nurses and 3,000
more midwives

Guarantee GP appointments
within 48 hours

Guarantee cancer tests
within a week

Repeal the coalition's
"privatisation plans" and cap health service profits

§crap housing benefit
changes that penalise those with spare rooms (also known as the Bedroom Tax)

Introduce a compulsory
jobs guarantee, which will "provide a paid starter job for every young
person unemployed for over a year"

Stop migrants claiming
benefits until they have lived in the UK for two years

Recruit an additional
1,000 border staff, paid for by a small charge on non-visa visitors to the UK

Safeguard over 10,000
frontline police officers over the next three years

People working in public
facing roles in the public sector will have to speak English

End the badger cull, ban
wild animals in circumstances, improve protection for dogs and cats

Action on high strength,
low cost alcohol

Set maximum permitted
levels of sugar, salt and fat in children's food

End marriage tax
allowance

Religious liberty & equality

Labour pledge to appoint a Global Envoy for Religious Freedom, and establish a multi-faith
advisory council on religious freedom within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
And we will appoint an International LGBT Rights Envoy to promote respect for
the human rights of LGBT people, and work towards the decriminalisation of
homosexuality worldwide.

Democracy

The party promises to
devolve powers from Westminster and lower the voting age to 16.

Establish a
"people-led constitutional convention" to look at governance across
the UK

Replace the House of
Lords with a senate of nations and regions

Devolve £30bn of
resources and powers to English cities and counties

Fulfil pledges to
devolve further powers to Scotland and Wales

Give more power to local
communities to "shape their high street"

Ban MPs from holding paid
directorships and consultancies

Create a statutory
register of lobbyists

Require large companies
to publish details of their gender pay gap

It also confirms Labour
will consider introducing a regional benefits cap, an idea that some within the
party have previously rejected.

Foreign
policy

Reform the EU so it
"works for Britain"

Allow no further
transfer of powers to Brussels without a referendum

Hold a Strategic Defence
and Security Review in the first year of the next parliament